The Indian Railways is Asia’s largest and the world’s second largest rail network that has adopted e-Governance in right

earnest to reap the benefit of IT explosion. Indian Railways entrusted IRCTC with the task of conceptualizing, developing

and implementing the software. The issues of flexibility, scalability and provision of totally self-help arrangement (as

different from the assisted process at the Reservation Counters) had to be permitted to the internet users. Further a variety of

online payment mechanisms (like Credit Cards, Internet Banking, Cash Cards, etc.) were to be integrated with for

convenience of millions of users. IRCTC has also developed and published Web services to enable access to the basic

railway network and covers 63,140 route kilometres covering all the directions of the country.

It is continuously working to offer best possible services not only to the Indian passengers but also to the visitors who come

to explore our country.

The Indian Railways were divided under categories to smooth the progress of management and functionality and even

though the booking system for Indian railways is centrally computerized, managing such a huge network can be challenging

and hence the Indian Railways decided to introduce online railway ticket booking to make booking of railway tickets easier

and more convenient. The special benefits of using the online Indian railway tickets facility is that passengers can reserve

their tickets from the comfort of their home or office without having to stand in long queues at railway stations or having to

take the trouble to go to a travel agent. A railway ticket can be done up to 90 days before our desired date of departure, but it

is advised to plan our journey way ahead as the availability of tickets can be difficult, especially during vacation and

verification of data.[3] Indian Railways provides two types of online railway tickets that is I-ticket and E-Ticket.

Internet ticketing operations of IRCTC were launched on 3rd August 2002 in collaboration with CRIS, the Centre for

Railway Information Systems. Tickets for Rail journeys in India can be booked including Tatkal tickets on the Internet on the

web site www.irctc.co.in; by any user after registering at the site (Registration is free). Payments for tickets are made by use

of Master/Visa/Diners Club/American Express Credit Cards, Citibank Debit Cards and also through Direct Debits to the

users’ bank accounts; this is available to users who have their accounts in the 27 banks having Internet Banking facility lik e

ICICI, HDFC, Citibank, IDBI, Bank of Punjab, UTI Bank, State Bank of India, Centurion Bank, Punjab National Bank,

ABN Amro, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Syndicate Bank, Indian

cashcard and Done Cash Cards. I-Tickets get delivered to the users’ homes/offices or any other address of their choice in over

site today books more than 40,000 tickets daily. Though handling only a very small percentage of the tickets booked by the

Indian Railways Passenger Reservation System, which book about 7 lakhs tickets daily, this website has today over 35

million registered users. Besides delivery of the tickets, IRCTC also makes several value additions such as 24-hour helpline

to assist customers, on line answering of email round the clock, facilities for time table enquiries on train timings and other

Consignment Tracking System to know the status of delivery of their tickets at any time.

The I-ticket can be cancelled at any Computerized Reservation Counter across the country by submitting cancellation

requisition along with the ticket. No cash is paid to the Customer at the time of cancellation. The amount is credited back to

the Credit Card Account/Bank Account of the User. Other facilities like change of name, change of boarding point, etc., are

also available only across counters Reservation timings are from 05.00 hrs to 23.30 hrs from Monday to Sunday. Customers

airline issued tickets. Electronic ticketing for urban or rail public transport is usually referred to as travel card or transit pass.

It is also used in ticketing in the entertainment industry. An electronic ticket system is a more efficient method of ticket entry,

The user need not have to have a physical ticket with him; he can take print out the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) in the

specified Performa and travel. While travelling, the user has to carry the ERS along with the relevant Government issued

Photo Identity Card, which together constitute the travel authority. To avail this service, the user can log on to

www.irctc.co.in and book his ticket on the Internet just like any normal booking, and selecting ‘e-Ticket’ in the Plan My

Travel page. The user has to give the photo identity card details of any one of the passengers, while booking the ticket. On

confirmation of his booking, the user can take a print of the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) and can perform the journey

The user is not required to give any input of the photo identity card details of any of the passengers while booking the ticket.

However he shall have to carry and show one of following identity card of any of the passengers in original while travelling.

The following photo identity cards are considered valid.

passenger up to a maximum of Rs.25/- (Second/Sleeper) and Rs.40/- (Higher Class) Cancellation of e-Ticket is permitted on

the website (www.irctc.co.in) up to chart preparation. No cancellation is possible at Counters. Part/Complete cancellation is

possible online, but if the passenger whose ID is recorded originally wants to cancel his journey alone, the entire ticket for

the group has to be cancelled and fresh booking is to be done. In case person fails to carry ERS during the journey a penalty

of Rs. 50/- is imposed. However, if a person fails to carry Photo Identity Card, then he is treated as without ticket.

has emerged as a front-runner in providing quality travel services to India's population of more than a million. They have not

hesitated in offering state-of-the-art services to customers such as online checking, booking and reservation facilities. The

online railway booking portal of Indian Railways offers comfortable travel options and the journey begins from the click of a

primary reason behind this raging popularity of the e-ticket is its user-friendly approach. Working professionals who are

constantly on the move benefit tremendously from this facility. They can book the ticket while travelling and only need a

any time using mobile phones or other mobile handsets. Mobile tickets reduce the production and distribution costs

connected with traditional paper-based ticketing channels and increase customer convenience by providing new and simple

The Indian railways are considered to be having the largest network of rails and having the busiest rail network in all over

the world. Even today there is a continuous growth in the network of the railways. The online rail ticket booking has gained

very high popularity in the people due to many reasons. Here are some of the benefits listed of the online rail ticket booking.

If passenger not a fan of technology, online booking might not be for us.

Our Indian railway services websites providing sufficient privacy and security. Overall, online booking helps foster better

client relationships and helps us provide better customer service. But make sure we look at all our options and make an

informed decision. It has proved to be boon not only for passengers but also for Railway functioning since it generates all the

reports for optimisation and decision making. It is an online real time passenger reservation system.